Regence supports National Drug Take Back Day

When was the last time you checked your medicine cabinet for expired or unused prescription medications? It might be time for a little spring cleaning.

The Drug Enforcement Administration sponsors two National Prescription Drug Take Back days each year, and Saturday, April 28 is the next chance to dispose of those old or unneeded drugs. The DEA offers a list of collection sites nationwide; you can find one near you by entering your ZIP code on the Drug Take Back Day collection locator. Take unused or expired medications to any of these sites between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and officials will safely dispose of them. You can have peace of mind, knowing you have done something to help reduce the risk of those medications being misused.

Regence supports safe disposal of prescription medications, particularly opioids. Opioid abuse is a public health crisis, and our communities are affected. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2015 showed that most abused prescription medications were obtained from family and friends – often from a home medicine cabinet, according to the DEA.

You can read more about safe disposal of opioids on our opioid information page and learn more about our commitment to reducing opioid prescriptions. We hope you will do your part this weekend and clean out your medicine cabinet.